The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) commanded licking the fingers and the dish (after eating), and he said: You do not know in which portion the blessing lies

Chapter: It is recommended to lick one's fingers and wipe the bowl, and to eat a piece of food that is dropped after removing any dirt on it. It is disliked to wipe one's hand before licking it, because of the possibility that the blessing of the food may be in that remaining part. The Sunnah is to eat with three fingers

Authentic hadith of Sahih Muslim Sahih Muslim 2033b

Narrator:Jābir ibn ‘Abdullāh

حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ نُمَيْرٍ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبِي، حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ، عَنْ أَبِي الزُّبَيْرِ، عَنْ جَابِرٍ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏

إِذَا وَقَعَتْ لُقْمَةُ أَحَدِكُمْ فَلْيَأْخُذْهَا فَلْيُمِطْ مَا كَانَ بِهَا مِنْ أَذًى وَلْيَأْكُلْهَا وَلاَ يَدَعْهَا لِلشَّيْطَانِ وَلاَ يَمْسَحْ يَدَهُ بِالْمِنْدِيلِ حَتَّى يَلْعَقَ أَصَابِعَهُ فَإِنَّهُ لاَ يَدْرِي فِي أَىِّ طَعَامِهِ الْبَرَكَةُ ‏"

Jābir ibn ‘Abdullāh (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) commanded licking the fingers and the dish (after eating), and he said: "You do not know in which portion the blessing lies."

In another narration, he said: "When a morsel falls from any of you, he should pick it up and remove any dirt that is on it then eat it and not leave it to the devil. He should not wipe his hand with the napkin until he has licked his fingers, for he does not know in which portion of his food the blessing lies."

In a third narration, he said: "Verily, the devil is present with you in all of your affairs. He is present when your meal is brought to you. So, if a morsel fell from any of you, then he should remove any dirt that is on it then eat it and not leave it to the devil.”

Reported by Muslim (No. 2033b, 2033d, 2059a, 2059c), At-Tirmidhi (No. 1820b), Ibn Majah (No. 3254, 3270), Ahmad (No. 13705, 13706, 13707, 13869, 13870, 14025, 14101, 14410) and Ad-Darimi (No. 1955).

Explanation

Jābir ibn ‘Abdullāh (may Allah be pleased with him) reported from the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) some of the manners of eating, including the following:

- When one finishes his meal, he should lick his fingers and wipe his plate clean until there is no trace of food on it, in order not to miss any of the blessing of the food which could be in any part of it.

If a morsel of food falls on the ground, he should not leave it, because the devil accompanies the son of Adam in all of his affairs. If a morsel of food falls, the devil takes it, but we do not see him as this is a matter of the unseen world. However, we know about it through the words of our truthful Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him). The devil takes this fallen food and eats it, even if we still see it before us; he eats it in a manner unseen to us. This is one of the matters of the unseen that we must believe in.

Explanation in Arabic

نقل جابر بن عبد الله رضي الله عنهما عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم آدابًا من آداب الأكل، منها: أن الإنسان إذا فرغ من أكله فإنه يلعق أصابعه ويلعق الصفحة، يعني يلحسها حتى لا يبقى فيها أثر الطعام، فإنكم لا تدرون في أي طعامكم البركة.

كذلك أيضًا من آداب الأكل: أن الإنسان إذا سقطت لقمه على الأرض فإنه لا يتركها؛ فالشيطان يحضر للإنسان في جميع شؤونه، فيأخذ اللقمة؛ ولكن لا يأخذها ونحن ننظر، لأن هذا شيء غيبي لا نشاهده، ولكننا علمناه بخبر الصادق المصدوق عليه الصلاة والسلام يأخذها الشيطان فيأكلها، وإن بقيت أمامنا حِسيًّا، لكنه يأكلها غيبًا، هذه من الأمور الغيبية التي يجب أن نصدق بها.

الطعام الذي يأكله الإنسان فيه بركة ولا يدري في أي طعامه توجد.
ينبغي على المرء أن يحرص على هذه البركة.
الترغيب في لعق الأصابع ولعق الصحون بإصبعه، وفي ذلك المحافظة على النعمة والتخلق بالتواضع.
أكل ما وقع على الأرض بعد تخليصه من الوسخ.
إثبات وجود الشياطين وأنهم يأكلون، ونحن نُسلِّم بهذا وإن كنا لا نراهم، ولا نعرف كيفية أكلهم، تصديقا لخبر النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم.
الشيطان يرقب العبد في كل حركاته وسكناته.
الشريعة الإسلامية تبين حقيقة ما يجلب المصالح ويدرأ المفاسد.
الإسلام دين النظافة والاحتراز من الأذى.

Classical commentary

An-Nawawi — Sharh Sahih Muslim

قَوْله صَلَّى اللَّه عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : ( فَلْيُمِطْ مَا كَانَ بِهَا مِنْ أَذًى وَلَا يَمْسَح يَده بِالْمِنْدِيلِ حَتَّى يَلْعَقهَا ) أَمَّا ( يُمِطْ ) فَبِضَمِّ الْيَاء وَمَعْنَاهُ : يُزِيل وَيُنَحِّي , وَقَالَ الْجَوْهَرِيّ : حَكَى أَبُو عُبَيْد مَاطَهُ وَأَمَاطَهُ نَحَّاهُ , وَقَالَ الْأَصْمَعِيّ : أَمَاطَهُ لَا غَيْر , وَمِنْهُ إِمَاطَة الْأَذَى وَمِطْت أَنَا عَنْهُ أَيْ تَنَحَّيْت , وَالْمُرَاد بِالْأَذَى هُنَا الْمُسْتَقْذَر مِنْ غُبَار وَتُرَاب وَقَذًى وَنَحْو ذَلِكَ , فَإِنْ كَانَتْ نَجَاسَة فَقَدْ ذَكَرْنَا حُكْمهَا , وَأَمَّا الْمِنْدِيل فَمَعْرُوف , وَهُوَ بِكَسْرِ الْمِيم , قَالَ اِبْن فَارِس فِي الْمُجْمَل : لَعَلَّهُ مَأْخُوذ مِنْ النَّدْل وَهُوَ النَّقْل , وَقَالَ غَيْره : ه…

Scholar	Grade	Applies to	Work
Muslimd. 261 AH	Authenticصحيح	The hadith	صحيح مسلم No. 2033

Other versions

Authentic Sahih Muslim 2033d

I heard Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) as saying: The Satan is present with any one of you in everything he does; he is present even when he eats food; so if any one of you drops a mouthful he should remove away anything filthy on it and eat it and not leave for the devil; and when he finishes (food) he…

إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ يَحْضُرُ أَحَدَكُمْ عِنْدَ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ مِنْ شَأْنِهِ حَتَّى يَحْضُرَهُ عِنْدَ طَعَامِهِ فَإِذَا سَقَطَتْ مِنْ أَحَدِكُمُ اللُّقْمَةُ فَلْيُمِطْ مَا كَانَ بِهَا مِنْ أَذًى ثُمَّ لْيَأْكُلْهَا وَلاَ…

Narrated by Jābir ibn ‘Abdullāh

Authentic Sahih Muslim 2059a

Food for two persons suffices for three, and food for three persons suffices for four

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Food for two persons suffices for three, and food for three persons suffices for four." In Muslim's narration, Jābir (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that…

طَعَامُ الْوَاحِدِ يَكْفِي الاِثْنَيْنِ وَطَعَامُ الاِثْنَيْنِ يَكْفِي الأَرْبَعَةَ وَطَعَامُ الأَرْبَعَةِ يَكْفِي الثَّمَانِيَةَ ‏"

Narrated by Jābir ibn ‘Abdullāh Explained

Authentic Sahih Muslim 2059c

Food for one suffices two and food for two suffices for four.

طَعَامُ الْوَاحِدِ يَكْفِي الاِثْنَيْنِ وَطَعَامُ الاِثْنَيْنِ يَكْفِي الأَرْبَعَةَ ‏"

Narrated by Jābir ibn ‘Abdullāh

Not graded Jami' at-Tirmidhi 1820b

"The food of one is sufficient for two, and the food of two is sufficient for four, and the food of four is sufficient for eight." Another chain from Jabir that the Prophet (ﷺ) said similarly.

"‏ طَعَامُ الْوَاحِدِ يَكْفِي الاِثْنَيْنِ وَطَعَامُ الاِثْنَيْنِ يَكْفِي الأَرْبَعَةَ وَطَعَامُ الأَرْبَعَةِ يَكْفِي الثَّمَانِيَةَ ‏"

Narrated by Jābir ibn ‘Abdullāh

Authentic Sunan Ibn Majah 3254

“The food of one person is sufficient for two, the food of two is sufficient for four, and the food for four is sufficient for eight.”

Narrated by Jābir ibn ‘Abdullāh

Authentic Sunan Ibn Majah 3270

“None of you should wipe his hand until he has licked it, for he does not know where the blessing if in his food.’”

"‏ لاَ يَمْسَحْ أَحَدُكُمْ يَدَهُ حَتَّى يَلْعَقَهَا فَإِنَّهُ لاَ يَدْرِي فِي أَىِّ طَعَامِهِ الْبَرَكَةُ ‏"

Narrated by Jābir ibn ‘Abdullāh

See all 22 versions

Not graded Musnad Ahmad 13705